Elliot Mincberg

Elliot Mincberg is a senior fellow at People For the American Way Foundation. He has worked on Supreme Court nominations for more than 30 years, and is also a former House Judiciary Committee chief counsel for oversight and investigations.

Recent Articles

(AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) Kavanaugh D uring his tenure as judge on the D.C. Circuit Court, Brett Kavanaugh has consistently ruled in favor of corporations and against workers, consumers, civil rights, and the environment. But is there an underlying theme or approach in American jurisprudence that explains Kavanaugh’s record? Although Kavanaugh would no doubt deny it, his judicial record makes clear that he is a conservative judicial activist who would pose serious dangers to our country if he joins the Supreme Court. Ultra-conservatives like Antonin Scalia and others have described judicial activists as possessing three primary characteristics. First, in key cases, a judicial activist judge’s decisions will correspond closely to his or her political or policy preferences. Second, in order to promote those preferences, a judicial activist will vote to overturn laws passed by democratically elected legislatures, relying on broad interpretations of the Constitution. Finally, in pursuit...

AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite A group from the Concerned Women for America, a Christian women's activist group, show their support as the justices ruled 7-2 for Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia, Missouri, that churches have the same right as other charitable groups to seek state money for new playground surfaces and other non-religious needs. G overnment neutrality toward religion is a crucial principle for the protection of religious freedom. However, the Supreme Court, pushed by the religious right and its most conservative justices, has eroded this key protection, moving toward a one-way ratchet in favor of religion. Under this legal regime, not only would churches and other religious institutions be treated equally with others when it comes to federal allocations, they would also get a clear preference when they object to generally applicable anti-discrimination or other laws. As the damaging Trinity Lutheran decision shows, even some moderates on the Court are inching toward...